I’m not sure if this little exercise says what I think it says … but it’s worth talking about.

The young stars of Major League Soccer are shining quite brightly at the moment. Perhaps more than ever before, which makes me pretty optimistic about the collective league quality continuing to trend blissfully upward.

I think it says pretty good things about MLS going forward, and how domestic soccer in general is progressing in its sundry development initiatives.

Major League Soccer is in the middle of assembling its latest 24 Under 24 list. It’s an annual assessment of the league’s top talent under 24 years old. I am on the panel of voters.

To be honest, this was a tough exercise, selecting just 24 to spotlight (based on technical ability, tactical awareness, physical talent, personality and potential).

But I dug in, did my best and, well, you’ll have to wait until the smarties at MLS get all the totals totaled to peruse the big list.

Meanwhile, here is my best effort at an MLS Best 11 among the under-24 set. I look at the lineup below and think, “Well, I’d take this bunch into an MLS match against … pretty much anyone.”

(Yes, Andrew Farrell is a right back for New England, but I still have a feeling that center back is his best spot, even if the current personnel around Gillette Stadium necessitates that he plays along the outside.)

The suffering Swans have had their share of poor performances this season — Clement later said January transfer spending “is a must” if the club wants to stay up — but he’s throwing his hands up in the air when it comes to Wednesday’s loss at the Liberty Stadium.

“At times it was horrible to be on the sideline watching that, seeing my side trying but suffering for long periods. They’re not the games that will decide our season but it was hard to watch at times because they were so dominant. For me, one of the best sides I’ve ever come across. So many good athletes, so many intelligent footballers and it’s really hard to pin them down. We actually had some attempts on their goal so I’m disappointed we didn’t get on the score sheet but they were a far superior side to us. We’ve got to put it aside that game. We’ve got Everton away (next) and we’ve got to try and pick something up there.”

All that’s left is for Clement to pick up a clarinet, awkwardly blow into it, then point at Pep Guardiola and say, “He’s good.”

United didn’t have it’s A-game, but that was okay thanks to fine defensive play from star backstop David De Gea and some gutsy tackles from Phil Jones. The goal came when Juan Mata‘s cross was nodded home by Romelu Lukaku in the 25th minute, and United rode that marker for all it was worth to stay three points ahead of third place Chelsea.

How good is Man City? Pep Guardiola‘s bunch have now won a Premier League record 15-straight in a single season, and have scored 52 goals while conceding just 11. Markers 49-52 came from David Silva (two), Kevin De Bruyne, and Sergio Aguero. Tottenham is next.

A ball bounded off Ahmed Hegazi’s body, and off Dominic Solanke‘s body and forearm to give Liverpool its presumed breakthrough, but the call was intentional handball. The Reds had myriad chances to score before that, but instead hand a point to the visiting Baggies.

The chances were there for dominant Arsenal, but the winning goal did not materialize at the London Stadium. Marko Arnautovic did everything but score when West Ham did manage the ball, and Javier Hernandez rattled the cage late, but David Moyes men had to settle for a well-earned point.

8 – Eight different clubs have won more points away from home in the Premier League than Arsenal (9) this season – Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, Burnley, Watford, Leicester & Spurs. Issue. pic.twitter.com/waUWHXCws6

Spurs are back in the Top Four thanks to a long Serge Aurier cross that fooled Mat Ryan and a Heung-Min Son deflection of a Christian Eriksen offering. Brighton’s just three points away from the drop zone with the loss.

Claude Puel‘s Foxes are flying, scoring goals for fun and encroaching on the Top Four after a horrible start to the Premier League season. Shinji Okazaki bagged his first Premier League brace, while Andy King and Riyad Mahrez also scored for Leicester, who is within five points of fourth and next faces Crystal Palace. Southampton’s goal came from Maya Yoshida.

1 – This is the first time that two Japanese players have scored for opposing sides in the history of the Premier League. Answer. https://t.co/HOApDbofnv